WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has wrapped up its first week of arguments by telephone, with live audio available for the first time. The three days of hearings were remarkably smooth, although one unexpected audio gaffe certainly got peoples' attention on Wednesday.
During oral arguments in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, you could clearly hear the sound of a toilet flushing.
The flush occurred as Roman Martinez, the attorney representing the American Association of Political Consultants, was presenting his case before the court.
A C-SPAN reporter posted a clip of the interrupting flush, if you want to listen for yourself.
Toilet flushes aside, things went pretty much according to plan in the court's first week of arguments by telephone, even as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participated from her hospital room and Justice Stephen Breyer was briefly kicked off the line on Wednesday.
The 87-year-old Ginsburg is being treated at a Baltimore hospital for an infection caused by a gallstone.
Breyer’s brief absence from the arguments came in a case about robocalls. When Breyer rejoined the call, he said he was cut off when someone had tried calling him.
The justices will return to the phones next week for six cases over three days. Those include President Donald Trump’s efforts to shield his tax and other financial records and whether presidential electors must cast their Electoral College votes for the candidate who wins the popular vote in their state.
Wednesday's session was scheduled for two hours but lasted nearly three hours. One-hour sessions Monday and Tuesday ran a few minutes over.
